“Principal, her private life is a mess! She just had an abortion! You should revoke her eligibility to speak!” It was the university’s Freshman Welcome Ceremony. I was supposed to give a speech as an outstanding student, but my mom, Veronica, snatched the microphone right out of my hand. Instantly, I became the laughingstock of the entire university. My boyfriend slapped me hard and broke up with me. Classmates scrawled “slut” all over my clothes. In despair, I jumped from the rooftop. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day before the Freshman Welcome Ceremony. I secretly swapped Veronica’s birth control pills for vitamin tablets. This time, I’d make sure she got a taste of public humiliation and ruin herself. Dinner table, the atmosphere was heavy. Veronica cut a piece of steak and placed it on my plate. “Eat more. The Freshman Welcome Ceremony is tomorrow. You need to be well-rested.” I silently pushed the steak to the side. “I don’t like it.” Veronica’s face darkened. “You’re going to be speaking on stage as the freshman representative in a few days. You *have* to be healthy, right?” Tiffany chimed in. “Anya, Veronica is just looking out for you.” “It’s such an honor to speak as the freshman representative.” Seeing my silence, Veronica’s voice shot up, practically a screech. “I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?” “Have you memorized your speech for tomorrow? Don’t you dare embarrass yourself on stage!” My dad, Robert, couldn’t stand it. He frowned. “Enough, let her eat in peace.” Veronica immediately turned her矛头 on Robert. “What do you know! I’m motivating her!” “She’s the focus of the entire university right now; she can’t afford to make a single mistake!” “Anya, I heard your university has an exchange student spot this year, chosen from the freshmen. The requirements are super high.” Tiffany brought it up, seemingly casually. Veronica, predictably, spoke up. “An exchange student? Which country?” “I think it’s the US. The tuition and living expenses for a year are hundreds of thousands of dollars, all covered by the university.” As soon as she heard “hundreds of thousands,” Veronica’s eyes lit up. A flicker of greed and calculation passed through them. Brenda gasped too. “Something that good? Then my daughter absolutely has to go!” “Her grades are so good, and she’s the freshman representative; there’s no way she won’t get it!” A hint of triumph crossed Veronica’s face, but then she frowned again. “Her? Look at her frail appearance; a strong gust of wind could probably knock her over.” “If she goes abroad, with no one to take care of her, what if she gets sick?” Tiffany immediately jumped in. “That’s right, Anya’s health isn’t great; she’s always had a delicate constitution since childhood.” “The competition for this spot is probably brutal, and Anya’s body might not be able to handle it.” I watched their coordinated act, a cold sneer forming in my heart. In my previous life, I burned the midnight oil for countless nights to get that exchange student spot. But because Veronica caused a huge scene at the university, I completely lost my eligibility. In the end, Tiffany actually got the replacement slot. This time, I wouldn’t let them succeed. “Mom, I don’t want to fight for that spot.” “It’s too much work. I just want to enjoy university.” Veronica froze. Brenda and Tiffany exchanged surprised glances. Veronica looked at me suspiciously. “Are you serious? You’re giving up such a good opportunity?” “Are you trying to pull some trick on me again?” “No, I just feel like my body truly isn’t up to it.” I deliberately showed weakness, shifting the focus to Tiffany. Watching the mother and daughter arrogantly scheming, a cold laugh echoed in my mind. This was just the first step. Let them fight over it themselves. The harder they fought, the harder they’d fall. Tiffany hurriedly waved her hands. “Anya, I didn’t mean that…” Veronica, however, cut her off, her eyes gleaming with cunning. “Since Anya isn’t going, we can’t let this opportunity go to waste.” “Tomorrow, we’ll go talk to Anya’s professor.” Brenda’s eyes lit up. “Will that work?” “Why wouldn’t it?” Veronica smiled. “She can go tell the professor that she’s not feeling well and wants to voluntarily give the opportunity to her cousin.” “The professor will see how thoughtful she is and will surely agree.” A flush crept up Tiffany’s cheeks, and she excitedly clenched her fists. Robert listened from the side, his brow furrowed. “What kind of nonsense is this? This is absurd!” Veronica glared at him. “You shut up! It’s not your place to speak in this house!” She looked at me, her voice commanding. “After your speech tomorrow, you’ll take us to your professor.” I nodded. “Got it, Mom.” Late that night, Veronica brought a glass of milk into my room. “Drink this milk. Don’t be nervous tomorrow.” It was exactly the same as in my previous life. Last time, after I drank the milk, I felt groggy every day. Veronica then had even more reason to claim I was frail. I took the glass and dutifully drank it all. “Thanks, Mom.” Veronica looked at me with satisfaction. After she left the room, I immediately went to the bathroom and vomited all the milk. Then, I walked into her bedroom. From the nightstand, I took out the bottle of birth control pills she always took. Skillfully, I removed the pills and replaced them with the vitamins I had prepared long ago. Mom, didn’t you always say I was your pride? This time, I’ll let you personally experience what it feels like to fall from grace to rock bottom.
On Freshman Welcome Ceremony day, the auditorium was packed. I took a deep breath, my heart filled with a profound stillness. It was my turn. I could clearly see Veronica, Brenda, and Tiffany sitting in the first row. Their gazes were like three sharp daggers, fixed firmly on me. “Distinguished faculty, staff, and my fellow students…” I began, my voice clear and steady. There was none of the nervousness or trembling from my previous life. A polite ripple of applause swept through the hall. My speech was about to end. Following the protocol, I bowed in thanks to all the faculty and students. The moment I straightened up, a figure suddenly darted from the audience. It was Veronica! She snatched the microphone from my hand so quickly that no one had time to react. The entire hall fell silent. All eyes focused on the stage, on Veronica. Unlike last time, I didn’t feel a chilling dread. Instead, my heart was pounding wildly. Not from fear, but from… excitement. The show, finally, was beginning. She held the microphone, her voice shrill and tearful. “Principal! Professors!” “Please, I beg you, revoke my daughter’s speaking eligibility!” Her words exploded like a bombshell in the auditorium. A wave of commotion erupted below the stage. I stood my ground, watching her performance with detached interest. “She doesn’t deserve it! She doesn’t deserve to stand here!” “She’s not at all what you see!” She cried frantically. “Her private life is a mess! She got herself pregnant at such a young age!” “To come to university, she just had an abortion a few days ago!” “Her body is still so weak; the doctor said she needs bed rest. I’m afraid she’ll collapse on stage if she stands for too long!” The entire hall fell into a deathly silence. Everyone’s gaze shifted from Veronica to me. I saw the Principal’s face turn ashen. The professors began to murmur amongst themselves, exchanging speculative glances. “No wonder she looks a bit pale; she just had surgery…” “I can’t believe it; such a good student, but her private life is so messy.” Tiffany, meanwhile, rushed to my side, her face full of feigned concern. “Anya, are you okay? You look so unwell.” “Quick, let’s go sit down and rest.” Her voice wasn’t loud, but it seemed to confirm Veronica’s words that I truly was frail. I shoved her hand away. I looked at the woman still performing on stage. My biological mother. She was still wailing. “I’m doing all this for her own good! How could a mother harm her own daughter?” “She’s just too strong-willed, but health is paramount!” “I was afraid she’d exhaust herself and wouldn’t be able to have children later, so I resorted to such a desperate measure!” What magnificent maternal love. To protect her daughter’s health, she didn’t hesitate to ruin her reputation in front of thousands of people. A dry, humorless laugh escaped my lips. Veronica turned, looking at me in shock. “What are you laughing at?” Step by step, I walked towards her. I took the microphone back from her hand. “Mom.” My voice wasn’t loud, but through the microphone, it clearly resonated throughout the entire auditorium. “Are you done?”
Veronica was stunned by my reaction. She stared blankly at me, unable to speak. I ignored her and turned to the university leadership. I bowed deeply. “I apologize, Principal, professors.” “I apologize for disrupting the Freshman Welcome Ceremony due to my personal matters.” My tone was calm. The Principal’s expression softened slightly. “Student, you…” I cut him off. “Regarding what my mother just said, I’d like to clarify a few things.” I turned, facing all the faculty and students. “First, I am not pregnant, nor have I had any surgery.” “Second, my private life is perfectly clean.” After speaking, I looked at Veronica. “Mom, you wanted to use this method to make the university believe I have an unsuitable character, thereby revoking my eligibility.” “And then, have my equally excellent and healthy cousin, Tiffany, take my place.” “Is that right?” The moment my words fell, Tiffany’s face drained of all color. Brenda also panicked, hastily waving her hands. “What are you babbling about, child! We didn’t!” Veronica’s face was a mask of fury. She hadn’t expected me to expose her in front of everyone. She trembled with rage, pointing at me. “You… you ungrateful wretch!” “I worked so hard to raise you, and this is how you slander me?” She started crying again, her acting utterly convincing. “How could I have given birth to such a monster!” “Every word I said is true! Do you dare go to the hospital for a check-up!” She was cornering me. Forcing me to prove my innocence against the filth she’d slung at me. In my previous life, that’s exactly how she pushed me to the brink of suicide. The university, to quell public opinion, advised me to withdraw. And she, only when I was driven to despair, offered a reluctant apology. “I only had good intentions. How was I to know they’d actually believe it?” I raised the microphone and spoke to everyone in the audience. “I can go to the hospital for a check-up to prove my innocence.” “However, before that, I’d like to ask everyone to watch a video.” Saying this, I took out my phone and connected it to the auditorium’s big screen. The screen showed Veronica, Brenda, and Tiffany, sitting on a sofa. “…It’s settled then! Tomorrow, Brenda, Tiffany and I will go to the university together!” “Once I say that, her spot will definitely be gone, hmph.” The auditorium fell into a deathly silence once more. Everyone watched the screen in astonishment. Veronica looked as if she’d been struck by lightning, frozen stiff. She pointed at me, utterly speechless. “You… you…” Tiffany had already crumpled to the floor, terrified. Brenda shrieked directly. “You recorded us! You actually secretly recorded us!” I turned off the video and put away my phone. “I just have a habit of documenting things.” I looked at Veronica. “Mom, now, do you still want me to go to the hospital for a check-up?” “Or, perhaps we should call the police first and let them determine whether such public defamation and false accusations constitute slander?” Veronica’s body almost swayed. All her pretense had been publicly torn to shreds by me. Whispers erupted from the audience. “Oh my god, is that her real mom?” “To get her niece the spot, she’d ruin her own daughter?” “That cousin isn’t any good either, too cunning.” I looked at Veronica’s face, feeling not a trace of satisfaction. Just then, several university security guards rushed onto the stage. “Madam, please leave immediately!” Veronica, being escorted out by the security guards, was still shouting at me. “I’m your mother! You can’t do this to me!” “You’ll regret this! You’ll definitely regret this!” Brenda and Tiffany were also led away from the scene. The farce finally concluded. I held my speech manuscript and walked off the stage. The moment I stepped out of the auditorium, someone blocked my path.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “307949”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #后宫Harem #重生Reborn
Leave a Reply